As the hearings for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse roll on, more horrific details will emerge about what happened in our city and the stories will become harder to hear.
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While Ballarat is not alone in what occurred, the city is set to hear some of the terrible details first and the impact that will have on many in our community should not be underplayed.
What is important is that Ballarat as a community faces up to what happened all those years ago, because as hard as it may be for many of us to read and listen to those stories, it pales in com-
parison to what the survivors will go through over the next few weeks.
And we need to listen to those survivors so we can understand what they went through.
Ballarat MP Catherine King summed it perfectly: “We will see stories on the national news that no one would like to see about any place that you call home, but if we are going to grow from these experiences then we have to hear it and help people to move on.”
No matter how tough it is to hear, this is one issue that the city needs to address for the benefit of all.
But to be clear, this commission should only be the beginning.
It will set out not only what occurred and what we can do to support those who were affected but, just as importantly, it will provide recommendations to ensure something like this can never happen again.
The tough days this week will be worth it, if the hearings can result in some kind of action.
We need to help these people who were treated in such a horrific way and now is the time for us to listen.
What is just as important is that we support each other.
Hearing the stories will impact on different people in different ways, which makes it even more important to keep an eye on people close to us who may be affected.
There are a number of avenues of help available for those who are troubled by what they may read, hear or see and it is important now more than ever that we use them.
Anyone needing assistance can call CASA Ballarat on 1800 806 292 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.